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I don't talk about trans surgery issues not because I'm a true believer, but because I enjoy not being fired, being able to talk to my extended family and not having unhinged weirdos stalk me and people close to me while trying to get me fired and censured. You can absolutely motherfucking bet that a lot of these people are going to make sure their kids don't end up as trans, but for many of these people trying to speak up in public is nothing more than an invitation for a bunch of fringe weirdos to get involved with your life in ways that reflect terribly on you even if you're doing the right thing. Who the fuck is going to blow up their entire social life, inflict huge amounts of annoyance on their family and potentially jeopardise their ability to keep their own children fed in order to take a stance on a political issue that affects a vanishing minority of people?
Trust me, I'm in the same boat professionally speaking. But in private with friends I'm happy to share. But perhaps that's they're reservation and just more cautious?
This really depends on the kind of friends we're talking about. My best friend since childhood, my brother from another mother who is with me for life? Yeah, he gets my real opinion. But my broader social circle absolutely does not, because I can't trust that all the people in my broader social circle will remain good friends with me forever and nobody will ever change their opinion on this topic.
You can’t complain that society turns against your ideas if you never bother to express them. You don’t get any points for secret thoughts, the purity of your internal morality. For other people and politicians, you are indistinguishable from a supporter, and bear the same responsibility.
Where am I complaining? I don't think I've actually argued against trans surgeries on here at all, and if I have it definitely wasn't in a particularly rigorous way. I do actually loudly talk about and advocate for the political issues that matter to me in person - but the trans issue is one that I don't particularly care about, and has an outsized share of vindictive weirdos devoted to it. If I want a chance to actually achieve my own goals, picking a stupid fight over something like this is the worst way to go about doing so.
The politicians I actually vote for usually don't care about trans issues at all, and preference voting in my country means that I am actually distinguishable from a supporter in a real way. Furthermore, there's a big difference between being an active supporter of certain ideas and simply remaining silent - and collapsing that distinction really doesn't do you any favours when it comes to engaging with the rest of the world who hasn't already been sold on your position.
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Makes sense, I too am more circumspect in wider circles
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